Independent reviews of OBSI’s operations are conducted every five years and the latest ones were conducted concurrently by Professor Poonam Puri, one of Canada’s leading experts in corporate governance, corporate law, and securities law.
The findings of the banking complaints handling were delivered to OBSI’s board and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), which oversees External Complaints Bodies (ECBs) for Canada’s federal banking sector.
The report noted that the ombudsman service had handled record numbers of banking-related complaints in 2021 without delay, and that it had taken steps to improve its service delivery.
An earlier OBSI report showed that banking-related complaints were up 55% in 2021 to 514 cases, led by credit card issues
ECB assessment
The review noted that Canada’s multi-ECB system raised concerns, as highlighted by FCAC in 2020, that “competition among ECBs was not consistent with international standards, introduced inefficiencies and complexity for consumers and negatively affected consumers’ perceptions of the fairness and impartiality of the system.”
